The first of nine New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) trucks retrofitted with clean-burning engines fueled by a combination of compressed natural gas (CNG) and diesel fuel were unveiled recently.
This clean air project was announced at the office of Baker Equipment Engineering Co of Rome NY, which is installing the retrofits under a two-year pilot program. Baker is in partnership with Bachman AFV, a company with offices in New York and Kentucky that specializes in clean fuels technology. The retrofits will enable the vehicles, including four large snowplow/dump trucks and five medium-duty dump trucks, to operate using a combination of 80% CNG and 20% diesel fuel. All nine retrofits are expected to be completed by late spring 2004.
During a seven-year period. each retrofitted truck is expected to emit 3,000 fewer pounds of nitrogen oxides and 90 fewer pounds of particulate matter, a reduction of 40% and 95%, respectively. Use of the nine trucks is expected to reduce the state's diesel fuel use by an estimated 5,140 gallons per year.
The nine trucks are being retrofitted under a $500,000 grant secured by the New York State Energy, Research, and Development Authority (NYSERDA), at a cost of about $28,000 per vehicle. They will be delivered for testing in Suffolk County, where low-emission vehicles will help meet clean air goals. NYSDOT and NYSERDA worked with the Greater Long Island Cities Coalition to arrange for the trucks to be tested on Long Island highways.